From TD Charitable Foundation, a $30K grant to Adelphi clinic

TD Charitable Foundation has awarded Adelphi University’s Derner Hempstead Child Clinic with a $30,000 grant.

The funding supports new and ongoing mental health services provided by the clinic. It comes at a time when the needs of the community have increased, post-pandemic, experts say.

Sponsored by Adelphi’s Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology since 2015, the center comprises clinical psychology and school psychology doctoral students. These students provide individual and family psychotherapy to children and teens in Hempstead.

Offering in-person and online services, the clinic is designed to treat a host of challenges, from ADHD to post-traumatic stress disorder. The clinic’s outcomes have helped improve children’s long-term mental and physical healthcare as well as their educational experiences, according to a news release about the grant.

“The health and economic needs of the community have increased exponentially since the pandemic,” Nicole Daisy-Etienne, director of the Derner Hempstead Child Clinic, said in a statement.

“This grant to the clinic’s mental health treatment and awareness program will significantly improve our ability to provide important resources to our neighbors,” Daisy-Etienne added.

Hempstead, the news release points out, is an underserved community. The Town of Hempstead has a population of about 55,300, with 44% of residents African American and 47% are Hispanic, according to the 2020 census. The median household income is $62,569.

The new funding aims to provide needed services, according to the news release.

“We strongly believe in Adelphi’s efforts to help sustain and create vibrant, thriving communities,” Andy Bregenzer, metro New York regional president of TD Bank, said in a statement.

“TD Bank, through its charitable giving arm, the TD Charitable Foundation, is happy to extend its legacy of support for the Derner Child Clinic’s critical initiatives to improve mental health of children and teens,” Bregenzer added.

Since the TD Charitable Foundation’s inception in 2002, it has contributed more than $297 million in grant funding to not-for-profit organizations in local communities. In support of its mission, TD recently launched TD Ready Commitment, which refocuses its giving to impact positive change and increase financial security, environmental quality, inclusive communities and equitable health outcomes.

“We are very grateful to the TD Charitable Foundation for being our partner in helping us in our mission to support and sustain healthy communities,” Thomas Kline, Adelphi vice president of university advancement and external relations, said in a statement.

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